First-Gen Voices is a living oral history archive at the University of Utah. We celebrate first-generation students, faculty, and alumni as leaders and essential contributors to our university’s history.
Instead of focusing on obstacles, we use an asset-based framework to highlight the resilience, community focus, and academic strengths our first-generation community brings to campus.
Our Mission
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Preserve History: Create an inclusive institutional record centered on first-generation student identities.
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Empower Students: Provide a platform where prospective students recognize their potential reflected in higher education.
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Educate Faculty: Offer tools for educators to validate the lived expertise of their students.
The Interview Model
The project is a partnership between librarian Lux Darkbloom and first-generation student Jimena Prieto Andrew. Our collaborative approach primarily uses a co-interviewing model to engage with participants as peers. This approach allows us to:
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Challenge Power Dynamics: Replace traditional academic hierarchies with mutual respect.
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Build Authentic Connection: Root every conversation in shared identity and understanding.
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Honor Lived Expertise: Recognize diverse ways of learning and knowing as central to the university’s history.
A Permanent Legacy
Hosted by the J. Willard Marriott Library, this archive serves as a bridge between the university and the community, ensuring first-gen voices remain a foundational part of the University of Utah’s legacy.
Share Your Story
The First-Gen Voices project is built on a foundation of trust and testimonial justice. We recognize that sharing your personal story is an act of vulnerability and a valuable contribution to our community. To ensure that our participants maintain agency and power over their narratives, the following protections are in place:
- Voluntary Participation: Participation is entirely voluntary. Participants may ask to be provided with the interview questions in advance and have the option to skip any questions or redirect the conversation at any time.
- Identity & Privacy: We honor each participant’s preference regarding their identity. Oral histories can be shared under a full name, a first name only, or a chosen alias.
- Continuous Consent: Consent is established before, during, and after the interview process.
- Preservation with Care: To maintain the privacy of participants and their surroundings, only audio recordings and written transcripts are included in the public archive. These artifacts are housed within the J. Willard Marriott Library’s secure institutional repository for long-term preservation.
- Academic Freedom: Interviews are conducted in a non-judgmental, egalitarian environment designed to challenge traditional power dynamics between faculty and students.
Interested in sharing your story? If you are a first-generation student, graduate, or faculty member and would like to participate in the project, please contact Lux Darkbloom at lux.darkbloom@utah.edu for more information on how to get involved.
Note: Opinions expressed by the interviewers do not represent the views of the University of Utah or the J. Willard Marriott Library.